Yun Jiao didn’t feel wronged when Yun Zhaodi and the others ganged up on her, because all of them together were no match for her.
But when her brothers arrived, she couldn’t help but put on a pitiful expression.
"Sis, what’s wrong? Let me see if you’re hurt."
Seeing Yun Jiao’s pitiful expression, Yun Xiaowu and the other boys instantly flew into a rage.
"You’re all so shameless! Ganging up on my little sister like this!"
"Did Yun Zhaodi and her friends hit you?"
Yun Zhaodi rolled up her sleeves and yelled, "Who hit who? Yun Jiao was the one chasing and hitting us!"
But her doting brothers wouldn’t listen.
And Yun Jiao nodded.
"They were trying to hit me."
But they hadn’t landed a single hit.
Yun Xiaowu and his brothers didn’t care that Yun Zhaodi and the others were girls. They rolled up their sleeves and charged in to fight.
"Yun Zhaodi, we’ve had it with you! We only gave you a warning when you were bad-mouthing our Jiaojiao behind her back, but now you’re really pushing it, aren’t you!"
Even Yun Xiao Liu, the normally lazy foodie, charged forward.
And so did the youngest, Yun Xiaojiu.
"Damn it! You’ve been stealing Jiaojiao’s things since we were little, and now you dare to bully her?"
A group of adults tried to break up the fight from the sidelines, but it was no use.
Yun Zhaodi and her friends were beaten until they ran home, wailing at the top of their lungs.
Yun Xiaowu and the others shouted after them, "If you ever dare to bully our sister again, we won’t just beat you up—your brothers will get it too!"
Finally, the band of proud, triumphant brothers led Yun Jiao home.
They checked her over on the way home and only relaxed completely after making sure she wasn’t actually hurt.
"Brothers, how did you know Yun Zhaodi and her friends were bullying me?"
"Yangwa saw what was happening and ran to tell us."
Yangwa was one of the village kids who was good friends with Yun Xiaowu and his brothers.
"My chicks, ducklings, and goslings—did they make it back home?"
"We don’t know. We didn’t see them."
Luckily, on the way home, they ran into Cat Boss, who was struggling to herd the poultry.
It had a rabbit clamped in its jaws, and the birds refused to listen, darting off in every direction as they ran.
The tabby cat was so infuriated it looked ready to tear them to shreds.
It had never been so frazzled, not even when those humans were chasing it!
"Boss."
Yun Jiao’s delighted voice rang out, and the sound was like a ray of light, instantly brightening the tabby cat’s world.
Then came Yun Jiao’s chirping calls... and those disobedient little furballs, which had been running wild, instantly swarmed toward her as if she were their mother hen.
They gathered around her feet, cheeping one after another.
They hadn’t eaten their fill and were hungry.
Yun Jiao crouched down and patted each of their heads.
The tabby cat trotted over, dropped the wild rabbit from its mouth, and let out a series of gruff meows, its expression looking for all the world like it was cussing someone out.
’...It’s not cussing me out, is it?’
"You’ve worked so hard."
Yun Jiao gave Cat Boss a scratch under the chin and a pat on the head, finally managing to soothe its ruffled fur.
"So this is the rabbit Yun Zhaodi and her friends were trying to steal?"
Yun Jiao nodded.
"They’re so shameless. Cat Boss definitely caught this."
Everyone had seen what the tabby cat was capable of. The idea that Yun Zhaodi and her friends could catch a rabbit was a joke.
Yun Xiaowu picked up the rabbit. "Let’s go. We need to find Mom and tell her what happened. Those girls are definitely going to run home and tattle to their parents."
Even if Yun Zhaodi’s family didn’t care that she got beaten up, they would definitely care about the rabbit.
As soon as they got home, they rushed over to the new house, found their parents, and gave them a rapid-fire, embellished account of what happened, making sure to portray Yun Jiao as utterly pitiful.
Tattling? Anyone could play at that game.
And just like that, Yun Jiao was once again showered with the family’s concern.
"Dad, Mom, they’ve definitely gone to tattle. Their families are sure to come and try to take the rabbit."
Shen Yunlian and the others had guessed as much.
Everyone wanted a piece of the action, especially when meat was involved. Setting aside the other families, Cai Jinhua, who loved taking advantage of any situation, would certainly not let the matter drop.
Wang Mei rolled up her sleeves and planted her hands on her hips. "Let them come! We still have a score to settle with them for bullying our Jiaojiao!"
Yun Jiao stood surrounded by her family.
"Don’t be afraid, Jiaojiao. Our family isn’t one to be pushed around."
Yun Jiao nodded emphatically. She wasn’t afraid at all.
Still, those people wouldn’t show up right away.
Yun Jiao stayed at the new house, the little girl helping to move bricks.
In no time, her face and clothes were covered in dust.
But she was happy.
As for the flock of hungry, cheeping little creatures, Yun Jiao went to the family’s nearest plot of land, plucked some vegetable leaves, and fed them.
Just as expected, the parents from the other families came storming over.
"Yun Linhai! Look what your Yun Jiao has done to my kid! She beat her up and stole her rabbit! Give us the rabbit back, and you’ll pay compensation!"
Cai Jinhua was her usual self, making a beeline for the rabbit and money the moment she arrived.
Yun Zhaodi was just an excuse. When it came to who hit Yun Zhaodi the hardest, no one could top her own mother.
Yun Zhaodi was a pitiful, pathetic, and detestable person.
She couldn’t escape her family, and as she grew, she inevitably began to emulate Cai Jinhua—bullying the weak while fearing the strong, taking advantage of others, and stealing. She learned it all from her mother.
"Yun Linhai, your Yun Jiao beat my kid too! You figure out what to do about it!"
"She’s so young, but she’s so vicious! Just look at what she did to my Chun Ya!"
The group had arrived in a great, blustering procession, telling everyone they met along the way how Yun Jiao had beaten up their children and stolen their rabbit.
As a result, they had attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.
"No way. You mean all of your kids together couldn’t beat Yun Jiao?"
"And they’re all quite a bit older than her."
The crowd looked at Yun Jiao’s short, stout figure, then at the other children.
While those girls weren’t as chubby as Yun Jiao, they were considerably taller.
Hearing this, the girls grew indignant. "Yun Jiao is a freak! She’s ridiculously strong. Didn’t she beat up Yun Xuecheng before? How could we possibly win against her?"
At this mention, everyone was suddenly reminded of the time Yun Jiao had pinned down Yun Xuecheng and beaten him up.
Uh... Yun Jiao’s strength really was a bit much.
Wang Mei spat, "Bah! You’re the freaks! Our Jiaojiao is a sweet girl. Why don’t you tell everyone why you got a beating?"
"You shameless brats! Trying to steal our Jiaojiao’s toys, her hair clips, and even her money! How can you be so vicious at your age? Bullying a little kid like that!"
"You lot are the biggest troublemakers in the village. What, you saw Jiaojiao was alone and thought you could bully her? It’s a good thing she’s strong enough to fight back, or who knows what state she’d be in right now!"
Wang Mei’s voice was just as loud, and she directly exposed everything Yun Zhaodi and her friends had done.
"And as for the rabbit—my family’s cat caught it fair and square! You saw it, tried to steal it, and then had the nerve to blame her instead! You shameless things!"